Sylph
by Warfang
Summary: I could not get the idea out of my head, and I had other stories to work on. Basically, if Finn was a rare creature, what pains would the Cyclonian Empire go to in order to obtain him?
1. Chapter 1

Because the IDEA will not die, so I can't work on my other fanfics!

I do not own Storm Hawks!

On with the Story!

"Back up here a minute. Cyclonia wants a peace treaty? For the next week or until the issue is resolved? Why?" Piper's voice cut across the Throne Room.

The day had been a very strange one. Everyone was trying to remember when they had last seen Finn, when the Cyclonians came out of nowhere and escorted them into Cyclonia, citing that their presence was urgently required.

When the Storm Hawks were herded into what appeared a television set in the middle of the Throne Room, they figured to stick around and get some questions answered. They all made a point to be standing, rather than sit in the chairs provided. They did make sure to rearrange the furniture so that the table was between them and when anyone else appeared.

Then Master Cyclonis entered with her top three strong arms, and listed that in dire emergencies, the Sky Knights were required to aid said Terra.

The broadcasted message began as soon as Dark Ace, Raves, and Snipe had entered the room where the Storm Hawks were. Back to the present time, where Piper got the first question out, as Master Cyclonis seemed to be in a bit of a...rush.

"We all know the stories, Piper. Of a world beyond the Expanse. We think that Finn may be one of those from the other side." Master Cyclonis indicated said world with a wave of her hand.

"Okay, before we actually believe you, I want some questions answered." Aerrow cut into Master Cyclonis' explanation. He was slightly irritated that when his squadron had been looking for Finn, the Cyclonians knew what was going on.

Dark Ace straightened up, but Master Cyclonis motioned for him to be still.

"Okay, here goes. How do we know that you didn't capture him, and how do you even suggest to support this claim, and lastly, can you please spell what you're calling Finn? I get the feeling that I heard it somewhere before."

"The last one's the easiest. He might be a Sylph. S-y-l-p-h. It means to us that he is not human, and is instead an actual air spirit."

"Your reasons?" Stork interrupted.

"He's fair. How many times does he 'sun bathe' but comes inside still the same color? Is he always loyal to you? Does he follow your morals but never seem to have any of his own? Do the words 'flighty' and 'free-spirited' describe him? Does he disappear on the Condor but the Skimmer is still there? Does he always seem to be just that shade off of a different color from everyone else you see like him? I can go on and on about little bits and pieces that eventually lead to Finn not being human. But I can make this easier for everyone."

Master Cyclonis inhaled deeply.

"We have been invaded by an entirely different country. Their flyers are completely different from our Skimmers, and they are the ones who kidnapped Finn. I have the recordings from Raves of what happened. You will find that they are not tampered with, nor forged. Take as long as you want. This is becoming less of you believing what Finn is and my hiring you to retrieve him."

"What? Finn is family; of course we're gonna save him." Junko butted into her statement.

"Actually, there are old records of a creature most likely the Sylph themselves recorded in Atmosia history. If Finn is a Sylph, than he is an endangered species, and must be protected. He very well can't be protected by a group of children." Dark Ace hissed, approaching the Storm Hawks. He stopped short of them. Actually, he stopped short of the table, put there for just that reason.

"Of course, there are other records saying that a Sylph can be bound to serve a master, in which regardless of who earns him, Master Cyclonis is prepared to decree that no harm should come to him. For you must understand, that even under orders from the master, a Sylph is unable to kill a human." Dark Ace proceeded to stroll in front of them.

"Once you realize that Finn needs your help, I am to go with you."

"ACH!" The general proclamation from all of the Storm Hawks was to be expected.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's first see that you aren't getting us all into an elaborate trap." Piper soothed the ruffled feathers from Dark Aces' last statement and proceeded to view the tapes.

Four hours later, the team closed the last book from Master Cyclonis' library and agreed that while Finn may be Finn or be a Sylph, he was most certainly kidnapped. The rest of Atmosia, not that the Storm hawks knew at the moment, agreed with them.

"Okay, another question. Why send Dark Ace with us?" Master Cyclonis refrained from sighing. But the Merb did have a valid point.

"Because he is the best that I can spare. As you will remember when we entered the third hour of our debate, most of the Cyclonian fleet was away at the time of the attack. That is the only reason why we can still defend ourselves. I am staying here, to make sure things don't get out of hand. I am willing," Master Cyclonis stood up "upon the safe return and verification of a full-bloodied Sylph to relinquish certain territories from the rule of Cyclonia. The ones near the border, of course. If he isn't a Sylph, then I have wasted my time, and will release only half of the aforementioned territory."

Master Cyclonis walked over to them.

"Do you realize how important the existence of a near demi-god is to Cyclonia for me to offer this? How many other countries there could be out there, and if we are under his protection, all of Atmosia and Cyclonia could be saved from further attacks? We would be left to squabble in peace, if you will."

Master Cyclonis walked back to her throne and sat done.

"The other reason I am sending Dark Ace with you is because he already knows the inside of the Condor, and is no great threat to you. I ordered him to play nice. Not that he won't hit back, just that he won't hit back harder. And you already know," Master Cyclonis raised her voice over Aerrow's "why I am not sending my own fleet after him. They dragged him past the Siren, and the only crew to make it past her was the Storm Hawks. You may refuel and stock the Condor, but I want you after the Sylph by sundown."

"How can you tell when sundown is when the sky is red?"

"Aerrow!" Piper's scandalized hiss expressed her surprise at Master Cyclonis' donation, and her shock at Aerrow's rudeness. Then again, they were being ordered to find their marksman, that said marksman may be taken from them if they saved him, and that mortal enemy number two was to be their new mate for a brief amount of time.

Oh, and that said new mate was allowed to bite.

"Just asking."

Dark Ace leaned over to Aerrow and said "I will be on the Condor in two hours, and we will be leaving."

"Alright, Storm Hawks, move out." Completely ignoring Dark Ace, the Storm Hawks moved out.

"Oh, and Dark Ace? We will be leaving in an hour and a half since the Condor doesn't need repairs this time."

Aerrow ducked out the Throne Room and caught up to the rest of the team, smirking at how he got the last word in at Dark Ace.

Dark Ace was ready to go in twenty minutes. The Condor was stocked in the next hour, checklists run off by Piper and Stork, Radar on board, the Condor left Cyclonia gunning for the great Expanse.

A/N: I probably should have put this at the top, but the reason this is marked as a Fin& Dark Ace is because I am exploring their inter-dependent reactions. Finn to no longer being human, and Dark Ace to being a (virtual) prisoner of those he torments. I plan for the Storm Hawks to take the high road after expressing their clear displeasure/disdain for him and see how the infamous Dark Ace handles living in a contained space with five teenagers.

Who said the Cyclonians were the real evil?


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Storm Hawks!

On with the Story!

Finn groaned as he sat up. What the blazes had attacked him? They looked like dragons, but they weren't playful at all.

Approximately ten hours ago….

Finn had been out flying when he was attacked. He had strayed a little further than usual, but Piper didn't need to know that he had snitched some power crystals off of the Cyclonians again.

He enjoyed the breeze whiffing through his hair, and moved through a series of aerial maneuvers that would help him in battle. It's just that whenever he went to do one, he would hesitate from a sixth sense telling him that _now was a bad time, the Cyclonian was on a collision course_ and every time he listened to the voice he avoided crashing his Skimmer into a Cyclonian who had chosen just then to break formation.

Finn had honed the sixth sense to the point where Piper thought he was psychic. Unfortunately, nothing whispered to him when the new riders had shown up.

The riders had been mostly nude and even hollered at him when he yelled at them 'Who the heck are you?'

Then one of them began to pace Finn and fly alongside him while the others watched. Oh, like he was going to stand for that. The whisper feeling began a steady stream through his head as he raced the other rider.

The person looked human, but it was hard to tell, beyond that the figure was yellow skinned and crouching low over the animal's back. Finn began to turn his Skimmer and show off.

He didn't realize that he was actually headed farther away from the Condor and near Cyclonian territory. Racing this person was so much fun!

He clearly pulled into the lead with grace and agility, and he had yet to show off his speed!

That was when the other rider yelled something in triumph and all of the riders swarmed him. Finn reached for his crossbow. He didn't know what had set them off, but wasn't about to be taken by them. He held them at bay, shooting them, but he never actually shot them down.

Finally, they seemed to grow weary of being nicked and assaulted and released a scream from their rides that startled Finn. He pulled his Skimmer up. Unfortunately, the one he was racing was above him, having gauged the Skimmer's ability. That one pulled him off of his Skimmer, and two others threw a net between them to catch his Skimmer.

The one who caught Finn put a sweet smelling rag over his mouth. Finn bit down, seeking to get the person's finger, and wound up squeezing some of the liquid into his mouth.

The woozy feeling told him that _that was a bad idea, do not resist or you'll fall and never see your friends again, this creature is not made for diving_.

Oh great, now the voice kicked in with obvious advice. But it was weak and self-survival.

The person stroked Finn' face before securing him to the creature by way of a harness that seemed to be crafted out of the creature's fur.

Finn didn't get to see what else that the harness was made of, as he passed out.

The riders screamed as red light passed by them and six Cyclonian skimmers came out of nowhere. Ravess led the charge, but she failed to retrieve the supposed Sylph.

Gnashing her teeth at the weaving, non-pattern movements that allowed the creatures to evade her shots, she sent the Talons back to Cyclonia and sped after the foreign riders.

She got as far as the Great Expanse. Marking where they went in, she turned around and headed back to Cyclonia.

* * *

Current time...

"There it is, right where she said it would be." Stork steered the Condor into the Great Expanse. The Dark Ace was pacing the deck, roaming around the Condor. He was greatly miffed at not being allowed to re-paint the yellow racing stripe as the room was reserved for Starling and he was only a guest, but Dark Ace settled in regardless.

As it was, Radarr constantly had an eye on him.

After Ravess had reported losing Finn, she and Master Cyclonis left to convince the Council to call a cease fire and make preparations for war against the invaders. There was really only the matter of drawing up an official contract and the rules under which Finn was to be protected. Very little could actually kill a Sylph, but if injured, their fury was something to behold. And a lonely Sylph in pain was the bane of existence.

Master Cyclonis had come down to see the Condor off before she went to see the Sky Knight Council.

"Let me put it this way- the foreigners will not like the lost of their demi-god Sylph. Of course, if Finn swears a version of eternal servitude or partnership to Aerrow, there should be no problem. But if he is left to grow Wild, he will never return, as his want will be to roam."

Aerrow shivered in memory of that advice. Master Cyclonis had suggested the these people believed in a fierceness which was possessed by all Sylph, and that they would breed that out of Finn's personality to make him Wild, to create their own 'Daemon' to turn loose upon their own world.

He remembered the times when Finn went power mad. It was true that Finn could talk people into anything. Now imagine Finn talking someone into doing something crazy that even the Storm Hawks would balk at it.

Aerrow had challenged Master Cyclonis' by pointing out that Piper could withstand Finn. Master Cyclonis had replied with a flippant wave that Piper was a strong individual, but more so, that Piper was female.

Sylphs had a common trait of protecting chaste women.

"So long as you have pure thoughts, Finn will continue to protect you. But the moment they are tainted, he will abandon you to your fortunes." Master Cyclonis had a happy little grin on her face as she proclaimed this.

Piper nearly set off the war again by saying, "Did you look in a mirror to figure that out?"

Master Cyclonis glared at her. Then she walked up to Piper, and threw a crystal shard on a rope around her wrist. "A solar crystal, in case you run out of any other power." With that, Cyclonis had stormed off to her ride.

Piper held the crystal, it's warmth beginning to burn her hand. Taking a breath, she reached into her bag and threw a crystal as hard as she could at Cyclonis' back.

"Oh yeah? Well, here's a lunar crystal. It's the only one I've got, so I want it back when we return!"

Then both 'humph'd' and stormed onto their respective rides.

Aerrow was shaken out of his thoughts by the Dark Ace sitting next to him.

"What's to do around here?"

"We usually play- I mean, train in our spare time, keep the Condor afloat, clean our Skimmers, and practice aerial combat. Finn suggested the occasional movie night, but that's not until next week."

Aerrow's face fell as he realized that Finn wouldn't be there to tease them about the movies. So what if they were home-made? Everyone loved doing it.

The Dark Ace quirked an eyebrow.

"What sort of movies?"

"Usually stuff that we find interesting. Junko had one of him sleeping for six hours."

The Dark Ace stared at him. "You're not joking."

"Nope. Which reminds me, there is one more thing that we do here on the Condor- chores."

The Dark Ace wiped the grin off Aerrow's face. "I'll take over polishing the hangar. It looks like it needs it, and it was my old chore, too."

Aerrow fought to keep the smirk from falling off his face, but he failed as the Dark Ace strode smirking from the Bridge into the hangar, found the cleaning supplies, and set to work.

Piper walked onto the Bridge, saw Aerrow's face, and walked over to her chart board. There, she wrote-

Storm Hawks: 0

Dark Ace: 1

Aerrow looked at the board and grinned.

"We are totally not going to get along until we all learn to play nice, aren't we?"

"Yup." Piper walked off the bridge to help Junko read through the books that Master Cyclonis had given them to help with analyzing and understanding Finn.

"You'll get a mission update over dinner."

Aerrow nodded, then turned back to staring out of the Condor's front window.

That was Finn's favorite spot to be, despite the danger of the glass breaking.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, I've been busy with college and other stories. But finally, things are moving along! Now, I just need to express the hostile-I'll-put-up-with-you-because-I-have-to atmosphere in the Condor better in the next chapter.


End file.
